Prison Architect

[Hooahguy]

How long ago was this? Ive been playing with the most recent version, and I have not had this problem. But the AI isnt so great, I will agree with you on that. Its more a result of conflicting orders and predetermined pathing issues from what I can tell. What will happen with the pathfinding issue is that when a character starts out towards an objective and then that route gets blocked, the character will get stuck there for about 5-10 seconds before finding a new path and correcting itself. Happens most to workers when they are building stuff. Other times prisoners wont be searched or otherwise dealt with and the order to do so just get stuck somewhere on the line, though a reboot of the game usually fixes this.

Another problem I have is that when there is an emergency like a prisoner overdoses or something, the nearest guard isnt assigned the task to deal with it. My first death in my current prison was a result of the responding guard coming from across the facility to bring him to the infirmary, and by the time he was brought there he was dead. In the meantime, half a dozen guards passed by his cell and did nothing.

[Montmorency]

Is this a very micromanaged game? Does the warden personally oversee the progress of every single inmate and guard?

Or on the other hand, is it more like a certain space-fleet combat simulator (whose name I can't recall) that has the player giving more general directives, setting policies and so on?

[Hooahguy]

Are you thinking of Endless Space? Kinda has that feel to it I guess.

Anyways its kind of like a hybrid. You can order your guards around and set up patrols and manually send in more guards or staff or whatever, but other than that you kinda just sit back and watch the wheels of your prison turn. Of course you can tinker with things, like building a new cell block, add another wall or fence, send prisoners to solitary or lockdown for infractions, set up classes like addiction and alcohol therapy, edit the daily regime for prisoners , set up a network of confidential informants, search cell blocks for contraband, manage the logistics of food and clothing, stuff like that. It keeps you engaged even after the prison is finished being built. Problems occur like troublesome inmates who start riots, or a food shortage, things like this you gotta watch out for to ensure you don't have big riots.

And here's a shot of my prison at night, when everything is (temporarily) peaceful.

[Greyblades]

Ok I've tried it out and... hello dwarf fortress learning curve. I have restarted more times than I can remember because I had forgotten something, or gotten my power and water lines tangled up.

[Hooahguy]

Reddit post about essential PA things, its a 10 part series. Here is #1. Very helpful!

[Veho Nex]

So the game looked interesting enough from these post that I picked it up this morning. Going to give it a shot when I get home tonight.

[Hooahguy]

Make sure you read the 10-part guide on Reddit that I posted. Its really helpful for beginners.